Building with SMILES#

SMILES (Simplified Molecular-Input Line-Entry System) allows you to build molecules through a string of text. If you have a SMILES string (e.g., copied from a paper or website) or prefer to enter one for a complicated molecule, Avogadro will build a 3D geometry from the SMILES using Open Babel

SMILES is also a useful way to copy a molecule from a 2D chemical drawing program to insert into Avogadro.

Under the “Build” menu, hold your cursor over “Insert”, and select “SMILES…”.